Delhi girls shine in inter-college cricket

Alipur: Delhi's Harry Cricket Academy is trying its best to add glory to women's cricket in the country. As a part of the initiative, students from the capital's Gargi and Kamala Nehru colleges are playing in the finals of an inter-college tournament. The girls have had to overcome six other teams from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. "With all the sponsors and other benefits, it's the first time I felt like I have some importance as a woman player. This is a great experience," said Moushmi Panda, a cricketer from Gargi College. Number crunching While the Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI) has an under-15 and under-19 set up in every state, it hasn't been able to build up the numbers because as there aren't enough women playing the sport, especially in northern India. "North India hardly has any women's cricket at the grassroots level. These tournaments give female cricketers a good opportunity. There are the nationals, but one hardly hears about them," said Surjeet Verma, women's coach. Even as the BCCI continues to drag its feet on the proposed merger with WCAI, the women's cricketing body is on the lookout for funds to develop its infrastructure. Meanwhile, small endeavours like the current like the inter-college tournament could prove instrumental in improving the bench strength of Indian women's cricket.